The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case involving Ford Motor Co. seemed a victory for plaintiffs, but it offers defendants in mass tort class actions a silver lining when it comes to the issue of “forum-shopping,” according to Patterson Belknap attorneys Thomas P. Kurland and Michelle M. Bufano. The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision involving Ford Motor Co.—affirming that the automaker could be sued in the home states of plaintiffs injured in car accidents that occurred there—was quickly characterized by commentators as a victory for plaintiffs, and a flat-out defeat for corporate defendants. No doubt, defendants would have preferred a different outcome. But this misses the full picture. In Ford, the court also went out of its way to forcefully reject plaintiff-friendly ‘forum shopping,’—a pervasive issue for corporations. To continue reading Michelle Bufano and Tom Kurland's Bloomberg Law article, please click here.
